Jury Convicts Daniel Martinez for Draper AirBnB Murders

Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced that a Third District Court jury found Daniel Martinez guilty of two counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder.

On April 3, 2022, Mr. Martinez was at a party at an AirBnB in Draper. The manager of the AirBnB arrived at the property to end the party and disperse the partygoers. The defendant and his friend were throwing beer bottles into the street, shattering them. The defendant was confronted by victim Austin Powell to stop breaking the bottles. After a brief verbal argument, the defendant began skipping and hopping around while firing bullets in the direction of the victim’s car, striking another victim, Jonathan Fuentes. Mr. Powell was pronounced dead at the scene, and Mr. Fuentes was taken to Intermountain Medical Center where he was pronounced brain dead and died later that day. 

The defendant was convicted by a jury trial on May 31, 2024. Sentencing is scheduled for July 18, 2024. The defendant is facing a sentence of 25 years to life.

“The actions by the defendant were callous and brazen. Two people had their lives extinguished much too early. Mr. Martinez showed complete disregard for the sanctity of human life and the safety of others when he shot at an occupied vehicle. The jury made the right call,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “I want to thank our prosecutors, Adrianna Davis and John Ham, and our support staff for their efforts on this case. I also want to thank our law enforcement partners for their thorough investigation.”